Maria was a school teacher and after being refused maternity leave, she quit her job. Later she started writing for another lady, who she had found through the well-known job portal Rozee.pk. One thing led to another and Maria found her employers oDesk profile. She then realized that she too could directly contact clients and help herself out better. These became the origins of a humble content creating business.
She set up her own oDesk account, gave away a few jobs of writing starting from, her own family. Gradually it became what we call ‘The Women’s Digital League’. This company gives a chance to all the educated young girls to get a job in the digital world.
Maria Umar is now the founder of Women’s Digital League (WDL), an online platform that provides work opportunities and digital training for Pakistani women. The turning point in her career was the Project Artemis/Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Program when she was mentored and coached by top business professors and motivational speakers from the Silicon Valley. Maria was nominated as a Thought Leader by Ashoka Changemakers. During her time working in an online digital outsourcing sphere, under her leadership, WDL also won the Early Stage Award in the Changemakers “Women Powering Work” competition. Maria has been featured as an innovative leader by the local and international media, including Mashable, Forbes, Virgin, Ashoka, and Dawn. She is also actively striving to encourage girls to opt for STEM at an early age, through the Technovation Challenge.
